John bouchard



(No Model.)

J. BOUGHARD.

SWITGH FOR OVERHEAD TRACKS.

Patented Mar. 5. 1889.

UNITED STATES PATENT rricE,

JOHN BOIFCHARD, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO MICHAEL CUI-IADY, OF SAME PLACE.

SWITCH FOR OVERHEAD TRACKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 399,008, dated March 5, 1889.

Application filed March 31, 1888. Serial No. 269,166. (No model.)

To aZZ 1071.072 it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN BOUCHARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the conntyof Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Switches for Butchers Tracks, which is fully set forth in the followingspeciiication, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents an elevation of astructure embodying my invention; Fig. 2, a plan view of the same; Fig. 3, a plan section taken on the line 1 l of Fig. 1, and Fig. i an end view.

Like letters refer to like parts in all the figures of the drawings.

My invention relates to switches forbutchers tracks, and is in the nature of an improvement upon the construction set forth in an application filed by me October 21, 1887, Serial No. 253,039.

I will now proceed to describe a construction in which my invention is practically carried out in one form, and will then particularly point out in the claims those features which I deem to be new and desire to protect by Letters Patent.

In the drawings, A represents the ceiling, overhead beam, or other part from which the track is suspended, and B the hangers attached thereto and supporting the track.

C represents the single line of track, which I will term the mainline, and C and C the branch lines to which the main line is to be connected. The general construction of these tracks and of the trucks which travel thereon is well known and needs no extended description here, it being only necessary to state that they may be of an yapproved construction for the purpose.

1) represents a switch-rail, which isadapted to swing horizontally in the arc of a circle, one end of said switch-rail remaining always in line with or opposite the end of the main line C, while its other end may by this swinging movement be brought in line with or op posite the end of citherof the branch lines C" or "n The switch-rail 1) may be connected to the main line (T in the manner set forth in my prior application hercinbefore referred to tached to an. upright, G.

but in practice I prefer a consiruction which I have devised for this purpose,and which is as follows: A hanger, l3, arranged at or near the end of the main line C, and is provided with a horizontal shoe or sole plate, h, the switch-railD being provided with apivot-pin, d, by means of which it is pivoted to the said hanger, The hangers B, which support the ends of the branch lines C and C are also provided with similar shoes or sole plates, h, and these plates are provided with upwardlyextending lugs 12, which form stops to limit the motion of the switch-rail D and hold the same in proper position. Upon the switchrail D there is mounted at the side thereof a lug, D, having aslot, (1', with which engages a pin, 6, on'an arm, E, attached to the lower end of a vertical rock-shaft, E. This rockshaft is mounted in suitable hearings in a hanger, B, and is provided at its upper end with an arm, 6.

F indicates a lever connected to the arm 6 at one end by means of a link, c its other end being connected by means ofa pivot-bolt, f, to a lever, F, pivoted on a plate, G, at-

The levers F and F form a pair of toggle-levers, which are operated by means of a hand-lever, II, which is pivoted on the pivot-boltf, connecting the levers F and F. The lever I-I passes down loosely through a keeper, g, on the upright G, and is perforated at 71. to receive a pin, g, on the said upright, by means of which the said lever may beheld either in a raised or a lowered position. The lever is provided with a toe, f, which, when the lever H lowered, strikes against the upright G and limits the downward motion thereof.

The operation of the device is as follows: \Yhcn the parts are in the position shown in full lines in the drawings, the switch-rail D connects the main track C with the branch track ,Yhen it desired to connect the main track with the branch C, it is only nec essary to move the lever H outward, so as to disengage it from the pin g, and then pull the said lever downward, when the action of the toggle-levers F and F will, through the medium of the arm a, rotate the rock-shaft E and cause the arm E thereof to swing the switch-rail D over into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3 of the drawings, in which position it connects the main line with the branch line C. The plates 5 form supports for the switch-rail to prevent any sagging thereof, and the stops 1; thereon limit the motion of the switch-rail, so as to arrest the same when in proper position. The toe f of the lever F also acts as a stop and prevents the toggle-levers from passing below a horizontal line, and thereby returning the switchrail to its original position. In practice the weight of the lever H is sulficient when the said lever is disengaged from the pin'g to throw the switch, so that when the lever H is freed from the pin g it will always hold. the switch-rail in line with the branch line C, which may be regarded from its position as a continuation of the main line C.

It will be observed that the switch-rail, instead of being pivoted to the end of the main rail, as is customary, is pivoted to an inde pendent hanger. By this construction I am enabled to obtain a pivot which in no way decreases the strength of the track at this point, since it is not necessary to halve the main and switch rails to pivot them to each other nor to employ a hinged joint to connect the two, which joint would necessarily be weaker than the rest of the rails. Moreover, by providing a separate hanger at this point and pivoting the switch thereto instead of to the main rail-I am enabled to prevent any sagging ot' the track at the point where the ends of the main and switch rails meet, and thus obviate a weakness which frequently, if not always, develops at this point when the switchrail is pivoted immediately to the end of the main rail.

It is obvious that various modifications in the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the principle of my invention, and I therefore do not wish to be understood as limiting myself strictly to the precise details hereinbefore described, and shown in the drawings.

arm connected to said switch-rail, and a second arm by whichit is operated, a pair of toggle-levers connected to said second arm and to a fixed support, and an operating-lever con nected to said toggle-levers, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

2. The combination, with the main and branch lines, of the horizontally-swinging pivoted switch-rail, the rock-shaft E, having arm E connected thereto, and arm 0', the toggle-levers F and F, the former connected to the arm e by means of link 2 and the latter pivoted to a fixed support, the operatinglever H, pivoted to the toggle-levers, and means for locking said operating-lever, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

3. The combination, with the swinging switch-rail and the rock-shaft E, for operating the same, of the toggle-levers F and F, the former coinected to said rock-shaft and the latter pivoted to a suitable fixed support and provided with a toe, f, to limit its downward motion, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

4. The combination, with the swinging switch-rail, its rock-shaft, and the togglelevers for operating the same, of the support G, having keeper g and pin g, and the operating-lever H, pivoted to the toggle-levers, passing through the keeper, and apertured at h to receive the pin g, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

JOHN BOUCHARD.

\Vitnesses:

CARRIE FEIGEL, IRVINE MILLER. 

